


Something 'bout a Truck

by anniesardors



Category: Chicago PD (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Humor, truckstead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-18 09:55:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29241696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anniesardors/pseuds/anniesardors
Summary: After Jay’s truck gets totaled in an accident, Jay and Hailey go car shopping for a replacement, but not without hitting a bump in the road
Relationships: Jay Halstead & Hailey Upton, Jay Halstead/Hailey Upton
Comments: 6
Kudos: 102





	Something 'bout a Truck

**Author's Note:**

> First, I just wanted to say thank you for all of your support on the last few fics. Every comment makes me smile so much! Y'all are the absolute kindest and I am so thankful to be able to write for this beautiful fandom and this lovely ship.
> 
> This story comes from an anonymous prompt on Tumblr: can you do a fic where Jay's truck gets totaled during a case and he's sad so Hailey offers to go shopping with him
> 
> The title comes from the song "Something 'bout a Truck" by Kip Moore
> 
> Hope this does that lovely prompt justice! Happy reading my friends!

"I'm not even sure how it's possible, but this is more painful than you getting the flu shot."

Jay shoots Hailey an annoyed look as she shakes her head for what feels like the hundredth time today. This is really not how either of them wanted to spend their Saturday off and Jay does not seem to be making things any easier.

Because car shopping is never any fun, but car shopping with Jay? That's a punishment in and of itself.

His previous truck had bit the bullet during the last case they had been working. They had been chasing down a suspect, Adrian Nolan, who they had been working on locating for days. Intelligence had three cars tailing the guy, ready to take him in. However, Nolan had other ideas, taking a side street to try and escape the cops. Kevin and Voight followed him while Jay and Hailey drove up a few blocks to try to cut him off.

The result, however, was Nolan's car colliding with Jay's truck. The passenger side took the brunt of the impact and as soon as Jay realized what was happening, he instinctively threw his arm across Hailey to keep her from flying forward. Thankfully, the truck was built like a brick, causing more damage to Nolan's SUV than it appeared to sustain.

Jay had been so focused on making sure Hailey was okay in the aftermath of the crash that he did not even notice the damage to his truck. She had a small cut on her forehead and a bit of bruising on her shoulder, but nothing too serious. Ever the protector, though, Jay insisted they head over to Med, just to make sure that she did not sustain any head damage. It was there that they got the call that the truck was totaled.

Hailey knew he was attached to the truck, but on the bright side, he got to get a new one, something he had casually been talking about for a while. Nothing would have prepared her for how painful car shopping with him actually would be.

They had looked at several trucks and there was something wrong with each of them. This one was too loud while driving and that one did not get good gas mileage. The newer car had technology that would distract him while they were driving and the older models did not have everything a police car needed.

Overall, they were making no progress.

"I'm sorry I take my job seriously and I want to get a durable car." Jay retorts as they continue to wander the outdoor lot. It was his police car so he had been put in charge of replacing it. The department gave him a budget and a few basic guidelines, then basically told him to have at it.

And Hailey was his partner (and his girlfriend) so she offered to go with him, knowing it would be a difficult process for the man who was so tied to his truck. However, she was not expecting it to be this difficult. 

"I don't know why we don't just get a newer model of the truck you had." She suggests. "You already know you like how it drives."

Jay shakes his head. 'It fell apart when it got hit."

"Jay, that's what cars do when other cars hit them." She informs him, the tone in her voice conveying that she is losing patience. She is a few steps behind him and she can tell he is frustrated by the way he walks in front of her instead of beside her. Normally, at this point, several months into their relationship, any time they were off duty, he would link his hand in hers. The only exceptions to that were when they were fighting or when he was frustrated.

"We're not going to get hit every day." Hailey continues, trying to reason with him. "That's the first accident we've had."

He mutters something incoherent as he continues walking, stopping every so often to inspect another truck or look at another price tag. Every time he does, he shakes his head and walks off again.

After another ten minutes of Jay silently judging every car he looks at, Hailey has had enough. She takes a few large steps so she is right behind him and grabs his hand, yanking him to a stop, forcing him to turn around and look at her.

"Okay, what is going on?"

"None of these tru-"

"Jay." Her voice is softer than it has been the entire time they have been shopping and it has some type of effect on him because he stands still and does not argue with her. "What's going on? This just isn't you being overly attached to your truck."

He is silent for a few moments and she watches as his jaw slowly unclenches and he lets out a long breath, his shoulders sagging with the movement.

"You got hurt." He says quietly, tightening his grip on their still intertwined hands. "Because some idiot hit us and the car didn't protect us."

"Jay, I'm okay." Everything in her wants to take a step forward and embrace him, but she is still acutely aware of the fact that they are standing between two trucks in a car lot and there are other customers walking around.

"But what if you weren't?" His voice is a little more desperate than she thinks she has ever heard. It's not the first time she got hurt at work, but it's the first time she has been injured since they started dating and even though it was just a few small scrapes and bruises, it does not shock her that he is taking it hard.

"Hailey, I'm your partner. It's my job to protect you." He shakes his head lightly, trying to gather his words. "And I get that I can't always protect you, but I'm going to try, even if that means being obsessive about getting the right truck."

Screw being in public. She takes a large step to close the distance between them and kisses him hard. It takes him a few seconds to register her lips on his but when he does he is quick to kiss her back, letting the last bit of his frustration melt away.

"Babe." She whispers when they separate far too quickly for either of their liking. "Nothing is going to happen to me. I am a good cop and I've got a good partner." She smiles at him and waits for him to give her a pity smile back.

"I know I'm being irrational." A mixture of guilt and embarrassment washes over his face. "I just want us to be safe."

"And we were." She assures him."We're standing here right now. The truck did what it was supposed to do."

"I know, I know." His hand raises to rub the back of his neck, his nervous tell, and he sighs. "I guess I just worry now more."

Now that there was something to worry about. Now that they were something and they were trying to build a future together and every accident on the job was a potential threat to that.

She gets it, she really does, because every time he goes out into the field without her or every time things with a suspect go sideways, she feels the same pang of fear in her stomach. Because it always would have always been hard if something happened to Jay, but now, she is not sure how she would be able to go on.

"Nothing is going to happen to either of us." Her voice is firm because she feels it in her bones that it is the truth. "We always have each other's backs so we will be fine. We are going to grow old and I'm going to keep annoying you for the next fifty years, you got that?"

"Pretty sure I'll be the one annoying you." He cracks a smile and it is the first time she has seen him genuinely happy today.

Out of the corner of her eye, she can see two older men walking slowly near them, waiting to inspect one of the trucks they are standing near. She doesn't respond to his comment, instead just grabbing Jay's hand and pulling him to walk with her, bumping his shoulders as they stroll.

"I love you, you know that?" She states simply as they make their way to a different section of the car lot. "And I love that you want to protect me. But being obsessive about the truck isn't the way to do it. Just keep being you."

His thumb grazes over the back of her hand as he gives it a squeeze, lifting it to his lips to press a gentle kiss to her skin. "How did I get so lucky to have you?"

"Beats me." Her voice is sarcastic and he just snickers in response. "Now, what do you say we go look at some trucks and you can tell me about all the cool car things that I don't really care about?"

The way his face lights up, she swears he is like a child at Christmas.

\-------------------------------------

If car shopping with a frustrated Jay was punishment, car shopping with an excited Jay was exhausting.

Hailey is happy that he has calmed down and he is enjoying herself, but after he realized he was putting too much pressure on himself and just let himself relax, he got a little too into the experience. He makes friends with one of the car salesmen and talks to the man nonstop about four-wheel drive and engine size. Hailey has no idea what a v6 cylinder is, but as long as Jay is happy, so is she.

When he first asked her to come with him car shopping, this is how she thought he would act: like a child in a candy store. She can't remember the last time she saw him act like this, this happy and relaxed. But as Jay put it when she pointed out the change in his demeanor, there are only three things that get him truly excited: "Trucks, golf, and my hot detective girlfriend."

Eventually, Jay finds a truck he likes enough to test drive it. Hailey sits in the back seat while the car salesman sits in the front with Jay, telling him about all of the features the truck has to offer. When they get back to the lot, the salesman tells them to take a few minutes to talk it over and leaves them alone in the truck. Hailey immediately hops out of her seat in the back and places herself in the passenger seat.

"Got to test out your spot?" Jay teases when she settles herself into the passenger seat, making a show of getting comfortable.

"I used this thing as much as you." She points out with a small snicker. "I get a say too. Unless you plan on getting a new partner."

Before the words are out of her mouth, he is leaning against the center console, grabbing her jacket and pulling her to him, kissing her in a way that is most certainly not appropriate for their setting. She doesn't complain though and when his tongue swipes her bottom lip, she deepens the kiss, relishing in his warmth and his taste.

"Hmm." His low voice vibrates. "Good to know we can still do that in this truck."

"Was there any doubt?"

"No. Just had to make sure it checked all the boxes."

She giggles softly. 'And the ability to kiss in the truck is a box?"

He shrugs nonchalantly. "Sometimes I just need to kiss you."

Her face reddens and she pushes him back to his side of the truck. "So, this the one?"

"Good price, good engine, four-wheel drive." With every item on the list, his smile grows a little more. "Yeah, this one's it."

"Good backseat too." She throws him a wink as she opens up the side door and hops down from the truck.

Not surprisingly, he is not too far behind her and when he catches up to her, his hands are grabbing her waist from behind and he is kissing the back of her head while she tries to maintain her balance.

"Hailey Anne Upton, you are something else." He remarks flirtatiously as he comes to walk beside her. His hand finds hers and he swings them in between them as they walk toward the car dealership.

"Just making sure we can do all the same activities in the new truck."

"Well, I guess we'll just have to test that out later, won't we?" There is a devilish glint in his eyes and she knows he will be true to his words when they drive the truck home later.

"Can I just ask you one thing?." She tugs on his arm when they make it to the sidewalk and he stops his movement, coming to stand in front of her.

"Anything."

"You're going to love me more than this truck, right?"

He pretends to think it over for a moment and Hailey immediately feigns offense, her mouth open agape.

"I mean, you were being mean to me earlier." He reasons with her playfully and she lets go of his hand and crosses her arms.

"Well, I hope you and your truck have a nice life." She pretends to walk away, but he just grabs her hand, having none of it, laughing as he pulls her inside the dealership with him.

"You know I love you more than anything." He tells her sincerely. "The truck included."

"That might just be the most romantic thing you've ever said to me."

He throws her a cheesy smile as they walk up to the car salesman to get the paperwork going. As he signs a few documents and shoots her a seductive wink, she is thankful that this day turned around and he was able to find a truck he liked. She knows it is more than a vehicle and is practically an extension of his personality, so finding the perfect truck was a must.

But, she swears, this truck had better last him a long time because she does not think either of them can emotionally handle having to get another new truck any time soon.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are always greatly appreciated! 
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr anniesardors for more stories,to leave a prompt, or talk anything and everything upstead and chicagopd!


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